Summersaults
by politiksandprose
Summary: “You don’t have to know all of that just yet Anna. But there’s one thing I’ve already figured out, and I know you have too – we love each other Anna. You know it.” Ben paused, “We can figure this stuff out together"


**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, I only own this one-shot. but i do wish i owned ben, and adam, and caine ;] lol**

Ben and Anna. Anna and Ben. These two names had been linked ever since Ben had stepped off the DC-10 that had brought Anna and himself from LaGuardia to LAX. Wait, scratch that – they had been linked ever since he had saved Anna from her seatmate from hell, Rick, pretending to be Anais Nin/Paige and Jack Kerouac. Ever since he spoke his first words to her, he had found her charming, witty and intellectual – not to mention incredibly sexy. She was definitely different from other girls he had dates, namely Cammie.

Anna and Ben's relationship had been full of ups and downs. Up when she met him on the plane and had seductively whispered words he remembered learning in numerous SAT prep classes, down when he was forced to abandon her on his yacht, still down when she wouldn't take him back despite his numerous efforts to win her back, down even more when she decided to go out with Adam Flood, a chill guy, but temporarily hated because of the Anna issue, up when they had finally really _given_ themselves to each other in Santa Barbara after he confessed what really happened at the yacht, down again when she sent him back to Princeton, and they were thousands of miles apart, down again recently, when he lied about an ex-but-not-really girlfriend showed up in the picture, and Ben had once again failed to tell the truth, down even more when she decided to "casually date" both Ben and Caine, a guy Ben still loathed, at the same time, and now, it was down again – maybe permanently. And so was he, Ben realized sprawled across the floor of his club after Adam had thrown a punch at him. Sure, his jaw hurt like a fucker, but all he could notice was Anna's disappearing figure as she walked out of the club.

Ben felt Cammie's hand on his arm, "Ben, are you okay?" Her voice was unusually laced with worry. He stood up.

"Yeah," he said gruffly, "I'll be right back."

***

Anna stood outside, cold in her simple dress and flats, wishing she had come in her own car rather than Sam's so she could escape quickly from this club, which is starting to resemble hell for her. Anna was completely, and utterly confused. Logan's flight would be leaving in two hours, and she could very well be sitting next to him, cuddling with him in their first class seats. Or, she could be going straight home, and begin packing for Yale. The latter definitely seemed much, much more logical. She began walking towards a main street where she could maybe find a taxi or some other mean of transportation.

"Anna! Wait!" Anna froze. Why was it that even though the person who's voice this belongs to had hurt her too many times to count on her two hands, it still made her weak in the knees, and made her stomach do summersaults when she heard him say her name. She slowed down, and waited for him to catch up before she turned around to face him.

"Hi" she said placidly.

" Hey." He was out of breath.

She could feel his eyes on her, as she looked at the ground to avoid his gaze during the minute of awkward silence they sat through.

"When are you going to yale?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"In three days." He nodded.

"Can I see you before you leave? We could go to Nate n' Al, and maybe sit on the same side of the couch this time..." he grinned, bringing up old memories. Bad memories.

"I don't think so, Ben." He nodded again, his eyes tortured. It was silent for about another two minutes before anyone spoke again.

"I should go." Anna's voice waivered, but she refused to involve tears in this goodbye. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing she still felt for him. "I'll see you … whenever, I guess" realizing she had no idea when she would see Ben again.

He nodded, and she knew he was thinking the same thing. "Bye, Anna." His eyes looked sad.

She turned around, and began walking away while taking out her cell phone, deciding to call Django instead of taking a taxi back home.

"Wait!" Ben called out, stopping her from walking away for the second time that night. She turned around to face him.

"I came." He almost whispered. She looked at him, confusion etched on her face. "I came to New York" he clarified, "to see you, and apologize for what happened at the garage that day."

Anna was shocked, least to say. "When?" she asked, almost unable to create a coherent thought in her brain, let alone a question.

"Last week, the day after you went. I got your address from Sam, but as soon as I got to your house, you were kissing real life Ken from Barbie" he explained, a scowl on his face.

This didn't make any sense! He said he didn't want someone like her, why in the world would he come after her all the way to New York?! "Why?" she asked, blunt and simple.

"Anna, I know I don't deserve someone as good as you, and I keep proving it to myself and you over and over again." His voice was pained. "But still, I can't stop myself from loving you. I love you so much that it hurts. I've never, ever fell for someone this hard, and I don't think this feeling will ever come back if you leave right now, because I need you." God, she needed him too, but something stopped her.

"What about what you said at the garage? Apparently I have so many flaws that you can't even stand." She sounded bitter; she could hear it in her own voice.

"Anna, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean it. Any of it. You were right" he confessed, "I was mad at my dad and I took it out all on you and you didn't deserve it."

"wait, lets backtrack here for a second – how'd you even know I was in New York?"

"I called, and called … and called. But you didn't pick up so I went to your house and your annoying southern driver told me you went to New York. But I didn't know if you were coming back or just heading off to Yale from there, so I got on a plane to New York. I couldn't just let you go to Yale like that, I couldn't leave things like that. So, I showed up at your house but I guess I was the only one who couldn't leave it like that because you looked pretty okay to me" referring to her kissing Logan. His voice was nonchalant but his eyes gave his pain away. She was about to tell him she wasn't okay – she needed him just as much as he needed her. Instead, she didn't.

"Ben, we can't keep doing this over and over again. It hasn't worked out yet – maybe it's just not meant to be." She said, remembering what Caine had said about Ben earlier.

"Not meant to be? That's a bunch of bull, Anna."

"I know" she admitted, quietly. "but, we still can't keep doing this Ben. I don't even know what I'm doing yet … Logan asked me to go to Bali with him, and there's still Yale, I just, I don't know."

"You don't have to know all of that just yet Anna. You still have a week to figure all that out. But there's one thing I've already figured out, and I know you have too – we love each other Anna. You know it." Ben paused, "We can figure this stuff out together" he pleaded.

"Ben, I just…"

"Anna, please."

"Ben, I have a flight to catch." Ben looked like she just took his heart out and stomped on it, a few hundred times. He nodded slowly.

"Okay, well, then I guess this is goodbye." He said, his voice wavering.

"No, hello." He looked confused, and Anna grinned. "Do you really think I'm that heartless? You just gave me the most heartfelt speech – and you're right, I love you. I can't just leave, Ben."

He grinned, and then leaned over and gave her the softest, tiniest kiss that left her stomach somersaulting all over the place. God, she loved that feeling.

**A/N- so theres not enough actual A-List stories on here! lol, i think we need some. please please pleaseeee review !**

**btw can anyone tell me why theres a bunch of non-related stories in this A-List folder?!**


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